Senate invites Emefiele over declining exchange rate of Naira

Senate has invited the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele over the dwindling fortune of the Naira exchange rate. The invitation followed a motion moved by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi on Wednesday during plenary on the state of the central bank intervention funds and the free fall of the Naira. According to a resolution passed by the upper legislative chamber, following deliberation on the motion, Emefiele will come into plenary and address distinguished Senators in closed door.

The Senate in the resolution also urged its Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to conduct an assessment on the decline in the value of the naira to come up with sustainable solutions. Meanwhile, in the interim, the Senate called on the CBN to urgently intervene to stop the rapid decline in the value of the Naira in service to the dollar and other international currencies. The Naira on Tuesday depreciated at the Investors and Exporters window, against the dollar, exchanging at N431. The figure represented a decrease of 0.90 per cent compared with the N427.17 it exchanged to the dollar on Monday. The open indicative rate closed at N427.30 to the dollar on Tuesday.

An exchange rate of N444 to the dollar was the highest rate recorded within the day’s trading before it settled at N431. The local currency sold for as low as N414 to the dollar within the day’s trading. A total of 58.03 million dollars was traded in foreign exchange at the official Investors and Exporters’ window on Tuesday. However, on Wednesday, the Naira crashed further in the parallel market, trading for N710 against the U.S. dollar. Checks on the exchange platform, Aboki Forex showed the current parallel market rate pegged at N710 to a dollar. The national currency traded for N670 against the dollar on Monday in the parallel market.